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Swamp Horror
in the damp and dark wilderness]] Swamp Horrors are monstrous, amphibious cephalopods and voracious predators used by the Gatormen as powerful warbeasts. They are valued in perticular for their multitude of tentacle attacks and their peculiar mystical essence, which allows a warlock to bring a degree of mutable flexibility to his arsenal. Tribes of gatormen have long endured an uneasy coexistence with the swamp horrors that share their hunting grounds as they even consume the tough and scaly forms of gatormen. Most tribes simply skirt areas known to be the territory of swamp horrors, granting them as wide a berth as possible; very few are willing to venture into such dangerous ground except for the most dire of needs, and even fewer will fight a swamp horror directly if given any option. The minds of these great, predatory mollusks are alien, almost unnatural, and only the most exceptional bokors and shamans are capable of subduing them. Such gatormen gladly take the creatures into combat, but swamp horrors are more than just beasts of war to them; they are symbols of status and power revered as devouring forces of the untamed swamp.Hordes: DominationIron Kingdoms Unleashed Physiology Adult swamp horrors grow as tall as twelve feet, although the reach of a swamp horror’s many limbs extends considerably farther. Much of the creature’s body is covered by overlapping plates of chitin that afford it remarkable protection, and the remainder is made of thick muscle tissue. Its vital organs are protected by the most heavily armored portion of its mantle, making them very difficult to reach. Each tentacle ends in a sharp chitinous spur the swamp horror can use to impale smaller prey, and the spur’s inner edge is sharp enough to slice cleanly through a man’s leg with a single lash. The swamp horror’s anatomy is suited for both land and water. Its enormous armored head has several sets of eyes that give it excellent vision both in and out of the water, and its multiple tentacles allow it to swim, pull itself forward, maintain its balance, and reach for prey all at the same time. Those few people who have encountered a swamp horror and escaped with their lives often comment on the beast’s reeking odor. The skin of a swamp horror excretes a thick, sour substance that protects the creature from parasites and prevents it from drying out while out of the water. This mucus-like substance smells strongly of uric acid or vinegar and is often the only warning that a swamp horror is lurking underwater somewhere nearby. Behaviour They are known for being indiscriminate in their hunts, consuming every living thing it encounters when hungry, including smaller swamp horrors. A swamp horror will pursue its prey onto boats, onto beaches, and even up trees. Any prey ensnared by one of this creature’s many thick, powerful tentacles is dragged alive into the beast’s distended maw, where a multitude of lacerating teeth rip its flesh apart. Swamp horrors are solitary beasts who lair in deep swamp pits and beneath the knotted roots of massive mangrove trees. Swamp horrors will attack and consume potential rivals that intrude on their hunting grounds and will knowingly venture into another horror’s territory only to seek a mate or kill off a competitor. Mating itself is a brutal ritual involving combat between the male and female where only the strong survive and even when they survive both creatures are marked with sucker wounds and long lacerations. The young are born in batches of over twenty but are extremely competitive. As they develop, stronger juveniles kill and consume their siblings until only a few remain. References Category:Warbeast Category:Minions Category:Hordes